Bilateral Meeting with Angela Merkel. Leaders underline necessity for political dialogue.

President Mikheil Saakashvili has addressed the Munich Security Conference this Sunday. In his speech the President underlined the necessity for political dialogue as a prerequisite for sustainable peace in the region, especially with Russia. He deeply regretted the Russian refusal to accept his offer for dialogue and condemned  the ongoing  occupation  and the military build-up in Georgian regions.

With regard to Afghanistan the President underlined the engagement of Georgian troops as a means of contributing to international security. He offered President Karzai support in building law-enforcement institutions. According to Transparency International ‘s Global Corruption Barometer 2010 Georgia comes Number One in terms of fighting corruption.

President Mikheil Saakashvili also met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday in an official bilateral encounter  on the sidelines of the Conference.

Topics of this 30 minutes meeting were Georgia's economic situation, the country's success in reforms and fighting corruption as well as the approximation between the European Union and Georgia. Furthermore they discussed extensively the security situation in Georgia and in the Caucasus Region at large. 

Both leaders emphasized  the necessity to fully implement the August 12^th 2008 cease-fire agreement, which Russia continuously violates by stationing its troops in sovereign Georgian territory.

Chancellor Merkel supported  Georgia's pledge to only use peaceful means to resolve the conflict with Russia and to restore its territorial integrity. President Saakashvili had pledged the non use of force in his address to the European Parliament in November 2010 and had called on Russia to join a comprehensive political dialogue.

Referring to the meeting President Saakashvili stated:" The relations between Georgia and Germany, and beyond with the European Union and NATO, are essential for Georgia s future. I would like to thank the German Chancellor for her continuous and strong support to our, territorial integrity, sovereignty and our independence".